Kliff Kingsbury instructs players not to do ‘Horns Down’ against Texas

Texas Tech is gearing up for its rivalry game against Texas this weekend, and one of the ways head coach Kliff Kingsbury is preparing his team is by urging players to not take the low-hanging fruit after scoring on or making a big play against the Longhorns.

Flashing the “Horns Down” gesture while playing Texas is considered taunting, and officials can automatically throw a flag for unsportsmanlike conduct if they see an opposing player doing it. A Texas Tech player was flagged for doing it last season, and Kingsbury wants to make sure his team avoids the gesture altogether on Saturday.

“We addressed it last year when we had a costly penalty doing that last year on the road, and you can’t do that against a quality football team and cost yourself 15 yards on a kickoff.” Kingsbury told reporters, via Matthew Connor of WreckEmRed.com. “So we won’t be doing that.”

Some officials let the “Horns Down” gesture go or simply don’t catch it, but a West Virginia player was penalized for doing it during his team’s game against Texas last weekend. It’s not worth the risk just to take a shot at the Longhorns, and Kingsbury is making sure his team knows that ahead of a big matchup.